The invention relates to a clamping mechanism for a cutting blade of a microtome, wherein the cutting blade is clampable in a cutting blade mounting.
Known cutting blades for microtomes are clamped, by screwthreaded bolts having two screw heads in blade holders situated on either side of the cutting edge region. In this known clamping mechanism, because the blade is clamped rigidly between two laterally spaced elements, and due to the thin section specimen held firmly in the microtome, only a relatively small cutting edge region of the expensive blade can be utilised. However, this means that the blade which is extremely costly to produce, is subject to increased wear in this narrow region, and its useful life is accordingly limited. The section removal region is further restricted by the lateral screwthreaded bolts and their screw heads.